EUGENE – Wilsonville boys basketball coach Chris Roche had seen enough of the sloppy ball handling and lazy defense his team displayed while falling behind 16-7 to Churchill in the first quarter of Thursday afternoon’s 5A quarterfinals matchup at Matthew Knight Arena.

So, Roche called a timeout with 3:26 remaining in the quarter. He gathered his players on the court and delivered a one-way conversation that centered on the basics of playing fundamental basketball.

“He said to take care of the ball and make sure we get back on defense,” Wilsonville senior point guard Kevin Marshall said. “Things we weren’t doing.”

The players took the stern reminder to heart and rode their suffocating brand of defense to a 48-40 victory to advance to Friday night’s semifinals.

The glut of experience for Wilsonville (six seniors, four juniors) might have made all the difference. Several Wildcats have made a habit out of going deep into the tournament in recent years while Churchill (22-5) remains very much in the development stages. Just two seniors grace the Lancers’ roster, which includes five sophomores.

Talent, however, is not in short supply.

“They’re going to be one of the best teams in the state for the next few years, for sure,” Roche said of Churchill.

The Lancers could be helped by lessons learned Thursday. They used their quickness and energy to jump out to the early lead with deep shots and fastbreak opportunities. But when the Wildcats packed it in on defense and slowed down the game on offense, Churchill had few answers. Meanwhile, Wilsonville’s experience helped them overcome the slow start.

“Our guys didn’t blink,” said Roche, whose father John Roche coached the Lancers to the 2001 4A state title,

Following the first quarter timeout, Wilsonville went on a 12-2 run to close the half. Two three-point baskets from Marshall highlighted the run, which ended with his second three swishing through a second before the buzzer sounded, giving the Wildcats a 19-18 lead at halftime.

Wilsonville opened the third with a 6-0 run that ended with a short jump shot by McNiel to give his team a 25-18 lead. Churchill answered and trailed 29-25 entering the fourth quarter.

But consistent rhythm on offense for the Lancers never came as Wilsonville prevented their guards from penetrating to create offense.

“Our defense is all about protecting the lane,” Marshall said.

Frustrated, Churchill routinely settled for one-on-one plays and jump shots rather than working the ball around.

“I felt like we got awestruck a little bit and got into trying to beat the one guy in front of us instead of being a unit of five guys out there,” Churchill coach Kelly Bokn said.

Consequently, Wilsonville’s lead continued to grow and reached 35-27. But then, Churchill caught fire. Sophomore guard Malik Morgan scored, was fouled and completed the three-point play to make the score 35-32 with 4:03 remaining.